Characteristics of Academic Writing

Academic Writing Characteristics

The approach you take when starting a paper that will need academic writing is different from the approach needed for informal communication.

Planning - There is a certain amount of planning before you start writing the paper; so, it will be analytical and organized.

Outline - A proper outline is a must for academic writing. An outline will not only help you formulate your thoughts, but will sometimes make you aware of certain relationships between topics. It will help you determine the pertinent information to be included in your paper.

Tone - A formal tone is used. You do not use slang words, jargon, abbreviations, or many clichés.

Language - The language in your paper needs to be clear and words need to be chosen for their precision. A thesaurus is a good tool to help you pick just the right words to explain the issues.

Point-of-view - The point of view in the third person, as the focus of academic writing is to educate on the facts, not support an opinion.

Approach - Deductive reasoning is a big part of academic writing as your readers have to follow the path that brought you to your conclusion.

Academic writing is used for papers that are intended for educated and informed readers and are serious in their approach. Before writing a paper for a school, check to see if they recommend a particular format and style. Following is an example of formal and informal writing:

Formal: The king made horrific decisions that caused him to lose his money and children.
Informal: I think that guy’s a loser.

The formal example is in the third person and is clear and concise. The informal example is based on the opinion of the writer, is not clear, and does not give the reader much information. It is also written in the first person and uses a slang expression and a contraction.

Academic Writing Structure

An academic paper has three distinct Now that you are ready to write your paper, you need information on the development and structure of it. The introduction, body, and conclusion of your paper will be examined and tips given for effective writing.

Introduction

It is important to have a strong start to your paper and quickly engage the reader. You can do this in several ways. You can start with some interesting information or unusual facts. A quote from a famous person or work is also good. Other choices include starting with a definition of a key word or several questions to get the reader thinking. After that, the thesis is stated and explained briefly.

Body

It is imperative that the paragraphs in the main body of the paper are coherent and connected. Moving from one to another should be effortless.

The paragraphs need to present information in chronological order or in order of importance. The first sentence of each paragraph is the topic sentence. It serves as a transition from the preceding paragraph or refers back to the thesis.

Within each paragraph, the sentences need to flow and refer back to the topic. Cohesion is achieved by repeating important words, using synonyms for the main subject, and using transitional words like: however, such as, therefore, and for example.

Conclusion

The conclusion is the final paragraph where you restate the thesis of the paper and give a summary of the major points. This serves to remind the reader of the purpose of the paper.

Definition of Academic Writing

There is not a hard-set definition of academic writing. It is definitely the kind of writing used in doctoral dissertations at colleges and universities. Most would agree that the characteristics of academic writing are perfect for papers presented at conferences, research papers, and research articles. Others would include any papers that are written as an assignment in any academic setting, especially higher education, in the definition of academic writing.

Besides dissertations, theses, conference papers, and research papers and articles, academic writing is used in translations, books, book reports, essays, abstracts, and explications. Abstracts are summaries of long works and explications are summaries of a particular section of a work.